Lights, camera….Action!
Birmingham band, The Lights give us their new single, ‘January Blues’ which along with the b-side, ‘Start Again’ shows that the band have many sides to them. Last year the Alternative Rockers had a successful single entitled, ‘The Score’, which was then followed up by their 5-track EP, ‘The Fair Weather Travelling Companion’. So after a year of gigs which saw them also at the Birmingham Artsfest this year and the Nelson Mandela Festival, they are back with their new offering…
‘January Blues’ is an up-tempo and happy-melodic number with jangly-guitars and strong male vocals. It balances nicely on the edge between Rock/Pop with hooks and a catchiness that is pure and not contrived and sugar-coated. In contrast to this, the b-side number ‘Start Again’ is just as good but for completely different reasons. It’s a slow number sung with the great voice from Liz, against an acoustic backdrop. The quality of a good slow song is that it sounds a little bit familiar without it sounding like anyone else. It’s so good that it could well be written by someone for a Fame Academy/X-Factor contestant to have as their first ‘hit’. Don’t get me wrong though, this is more Folk-Rock than Pop, and it’s certainly not Stock, Atkin & Waterman rubbish.
The two songs have been chosen well and show that the band have a good grounding to build on. It’s been well produced, by Gavin Monaghan (Travis, Editors, Kings Of Leon) adding the proverbial cherry on top. This isn’t the normal Indie-Rock that is filling the airwaves, but something a little more thoughtful, and well executed.